Reliance
by Mephiles
Summary: After catching the Nibi, Kakuzu and Hidan set forth towards the Fire Country. Before they get their though an incident forces them to make a detour, and the antagonistic pair of Akatsuki must learn to cooperate if they are to survive. Not HidanXKakuzu
1. The Problem

Mephiles: This is my first attempt at writing a Naruto Fanfiction and I must confess that I partly decided to write about this particualr pair from Akatsuki since they seem to recieve very little attention. I've tried to stay ture to the characters and to the main plot line as much as I can and hope you enjoy it. Please feel free to review and constructive criticism is always greatly appreciated

Reliance

Chapter One:

The Problem

Hidan watched calmly as Zetsu once more vanished back into the earth from which he had earlier emerged, the pretty, yet severely battered looking, host of the Nibi dissolving into the ground alongside him until, eventually, they were both lost to sight. He absentmindedly withdrew and retracted his pike, the end now glistening a lovely crimson colour, his own blood daubed all over it, as the eyes-and-ears of the Akatsuki left to finish his own business.

"And that is that," a nearby voice intoned monotonously, a deep voice filled with more menace then was humanly possible. Hidan craned his neck, blood still dripping from his open mouth like scarlet raindrops, as he caught sight of his partner amongst the rubble. Kakuzu slowly rose from the upturned piece of debris he had been resting on, drawing himself to his full and impressive height as he gazed down impassively at the bloodied, but satisfied, Hidan.

Kakuzu was tall and, more importantly, he was broad enough looking that it was impossible to mistake his height as a sign of gaunt or lankiness. This alone made Kakuzu an intimidating sight for any would-be adversary, but Hidan knew from first-hand experience that Kakuzu had other ways of terrifying his foes. The Akatsuki shinobi wore foreboding and terror as easily as he wore the black Akatsuki cloak, which obscured all but his face from view. His face was just as frightening, if not more so, as the rest of him. A hood kept the rear concealed from all view, and a face cloth over his mouth and nose coupled with his headband, an old and rusted thing still bearing the mark of _Takigakure, _the Village Hidden in the Waterfall, left only a tiny slit of his face visible to the eye.

This slit was completely dominated by Kakuzu's own eyes, which had, in Hidan's opinion, always been uncharacteristic with the rest of him. They were a pale green, teal more accurately, which did not sit well with Hidan. Judging from his imposing aura Hidan had expected red eyes, like the clan murderer Itachi Uchiha, or at the very least jet black eyes to represent the insides of Kakuzu's soul, but not green. Pure green in fact, there were no pupils at all, no iris or nothing, just enormous green orbs that seemed to always be staring at everyone, not really radiating malice or terror like the rest of him, but more just radiating a sort of ageless depth, as if the eyes themselves had come from so very long ago.

That seemed to be more than enough though, as Hidan had only ever met one person in his life who could match stares with Kakuzu and that was their Leader, and he hardly counted anyway since nothing seemed to ever faze him. Hidan often wandered to himself how Kakuzu managed to be so frightening, not that he himself wasn't intimidating, taller then most and with a powerful body, his silver hair slicked out of his face whilst his violet eyes looked on derisively at everything it saw, but he couldn't manage to inspire the same sort of raw terror which permeated Kakuzu's every move.

"Done?" Kakuzu inquired calmly, gazing down with his ancient eyes at the inert from of Hidan. The Jashin worshipping murderer gave himself a quick once over, making sure that everything was still connected to what it ought to be connected to, before giving a curt nod and standing up next to his partner. The two began to walk at a brisk pace, leaving the ruin that had once been a proud and majestic temple behind as a testament to their passing. Boredom quickly began to settle in between the two Akatsuki members, and Hidan silently prayed for something, anything, interesting to happen. His prayers were quickly answered.

"Hidan dodge!" was the only warning Hidan got; he caught a flash of metal in the corner of his eye and dodged per Kakuzu's instructions, giving an impressive jump as he turned his head back to where he had been standing previously. Kakuzu had similarly jumped away from the spot they had been occupied and was watching it intently. Hidan caught sight of a small Kunai, which proceeded to embed itself in the ground where they had been standing, a small piece of paper flapping lazily behind it.

"Boom!" The explosive tag erupted in a violent display of fire and force, leaving a scorched hole where the path had once been.

"Explosive tag, an enemy is in the area," Kakuzu analyzed, turning his head away from the hole and scanning the surrounding terrain for any sign of its origins. Hidan quickly mimicked him, his one hand straying idly to his back, where the large and triple-headed scythe he so loved, hung in all its violent glory.

"Trees to the south-south-east" Kakuzu whispered quietly to Hidan, keeping his attention firmly focused on every single direction but the aforementioned one. Hidan was smart enough to realize why, and quickly mimicked the behavior pattern, whilst wrapping the cords that connected his scythe to his hands tighter. Kakuzu made a microscopic movement, visibly clenching one of his fists as his eyes darted towards one tree in particular. Hidan gave an invisible nod and flung his scythe.

"Thunk!" The ruby-coloured scythe hurtled towards the tree in question, which promptly proceeded to snap in two as Hidan's weapon hit it and then continued to cut right through it. As the tree collapsed in to pieces, splintered by the force of the impact, two shinobi abandoned the cover it had been providing for them, leaping out into plain sight of the Akatsuki pair. A tense silence pervaded this action, the two ninjas who had attacked the duo eyed their foes cautiously, Hidan pulled the rope that connected his hand to his scythe taut and Kakuzu moved his legs apart.

"Now!" The enemy shinobi stated emphatically in a voice full of determination, one hand reaching for a scroll that promptly divulged a large shuriken in a puff of white smoke, the other one hurtled towards Hidan in a blaze of motion, vanishing into a vaguely human blur.

"Hidan, shuriken!" Kakuzu ordered roughly, Hidan gave a small smirk as he pulled he scythe back from the shards of the tree it had demolished. Faster then the eye could see the scythe came hurtling back towards its owner. The ninja who had been approaching Hidan was overcome by a momentary doubt and slowed his pace. Hidan smirked, confident in his victory. The scythe flashed out faster then the enemy could comprehend, slashing through the rival shinobi. Hidan smirked as the opponent slumped over instantly, a long and bloody gash across his midsection.

"Hidan you bastard!" Hidan looked over to where Kakuzu was now standing, a shuriken protruding roughly from his chest, in his hands the head and neck of the ninja who had thrown it, his neck bent at an uncomfortable looking angle, his eyes misted over. Hidan sneered at his ally, who was now trying, unsuccessfully, to rip the large shuriken out of his chest.

"Would it kill you to help here?" Kakuzu inquired disgruntled, Hidan shook his head laughing and approached his partner, ripping the Shuriken out roughly, leaving a bloody gash in Kakuzu's chest.

"I thought you would of hardened yourself or something," Hidan said broadly as he watched the wound on Kakuzu's chest vanished, swallowed up by writhing swarms of black strings, eventually looking as if there had never even been a wound.

"I didn't have enough time, that's why I told you to take him out, you could have survived whatever that other ninja was going to do to you!" He snapped irritably at Hidan, rubbing the spot where the wound had been. Hidan gave a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders as he walked over to the corpse of his earlier adversary.

"Wonder who they were, what they hate us for…I mean besides the usual," Hidan said calmly, examining the face of the ninja. A boy, probably somewhere between sixteen-eighteen years of age, wearing familiar armour.

"Their headbands say their Cloud-nins, like the Nibi's host was, I'm guessing that they were her teammates trying to avenge her," Kakuzu replied, still rubbing the wound thoughtfully as he stared down at the dead form of his opponent.

"Whatever, they were too weak to be real enemies anyway, what a joke," Hidan spat, kicking the corpse in the head. Kakuzu shook his head slowly at his partner's antics, before turning away to continue their journey.

"Where are you off to?" Hidan asked hotly, crossing his arms angrily. Kakuzu paused, turning around to face his religious companion with a dismal and sullen glare as they both said the same thing at the same time,

"The ritual!"

Hidan smirked, nodding with approval that Kakuzu had remembered, whilst Kakuzu nodded sadly, his shoulders slumming in defeat as he slouched down to the ground irritably. For a moment it looked like he was going to argue the point, and Hidan steeled himself, happily anticipating another heated argument, the closest the two came to bonding, but a look of pain flashed across his face at the final moment and he rubbed his wound cautiously before nodding his head in defeat.

"Proceed," he said in exhaustion.

* * *

Once the ritual was done, finally, the two continued onwards, Akatsuki cloaks billowing around them in the wind, making it look as if the small red clouds emblazoned upon them were actually moving, whilst silence filled the space between them. Occasionally a bird would chirp harmoniously, or a rustling of leaves would be heard, disturbing the somber air around the two S-class missing-nins. Hidan chewed his lower lip in annoyance, the taste of blood still fresh on his lips, as he followed behind Kakuzu regretting, not for the first time in his Akatsuki career, the fact that he'd been partnered with such an anti-social teammate. Kakuzu would never initiate a conversation, and rarely even bothered to pay attention to one that didn't begin or end with the word 'Money'. 

"So…Kakuzu?" Hidan tried slowly, searching his mind desperately for some or other subject that would help pass the time until they reached the Country of Fire. Kakuzu gave an inaudible grunt as his only response, and seemed satisfied that this was all that was required of him. Hidan's one eye gave a microscopic twitch as he felt his, admittedly short temper; begin to boil up, frothing to the front. Hidan took a deep breath, causing his rage to subside reluctantly, upset at being quashed rather then vented.

"Hey Kakuzu" Hidan tried again, this time sounding far more sure of himself, an underlying current of anger evident in his tone to even the most unobservant. Another grunt served as Kakuzu's less then enthusiastic response. This was the last straw for Hidan whose anger quickly returned to the surface.

"You're fucking going to hell, you do know that right, dipshit?" Hidan inquired furiously, his face red with rage as he gave the back of Kakuzu's head a glare so wrathful that it was a miracle he didn't just burst into flames on the spot. Kakuzu gave a pained groan, as if the statement had actually caused him physical injury, doubling over as his pace slowed. Hidan smirked, taking the lead, Kakuzu gave another groan of pain but Hidan ignored it, not planning on missing a chance to submit Kakuzu to his obviously superior theological views. _'This one's for you Jashin-sama!' _

"Oh yeah, you just go ahead and groan as much as you like, but that won't save you when Jashin-sama comes down and damns your ass to hell for being a fucking non-believer!" Hidan counseled Kakuzu loudly, waving his arms around him erratically to emphasize the importance of the situation to Kakuzu who merely groaned louder. Hidan's smirk grew larger as he continued to rant to his solemn ally.

"I don't think your getting just how fucking serious this is Kakuzu, you could wind up spending your entire afterlife in a shitheap, even worse than the shithole we use as a base now days!" Hidan continued, delicately clutching the prayer beads that hung around his neck, hoping for divine inspiration with which he could save the heretic.

"I'm fucking trying to help you're here, you know, so if I were you I'd convert and repent already, I'll even go ahead and ritually maim you just to show how much it would mean to me, that's pretty cool eh?" Hidan asked, his smirk growing ever larger. By this point Hidan couldn't even hear Kakuzu's responses anymore and he took this as a good sign.

"So what do you say? How about it? I'll fuck you over here and now and then you can begin your new life in the eyes of Jashin-sama," Hidan said, his smirk starting to falter in the face of Kakuzu's unnatural calm. It wasn't that Kakuzu talked a lot, but generally when Hidan began ranting about the glories of his religion, which were so obvious that he wandered why people kept being repelled by it, Kakuzu would flip his lid and begin countering just as fast as Hidan spewed curses, so far though he'd kept his cool the entire time, which is impressive when you consider that he had a habit of killing his partners when they so much as got in his way.

"Of course you'll first have to give up all that materialistic shit you've got, especially the **money**!" Hidan sneered confidently, that was sure to get a reaction out of the silent ninja. It was common knowledge that Kakuzu was the financial head for the entire organization, a difficult job to balance with constant active field duty, and one that he held in high esteem. To say the Kakuzu liked money was like saying Itachi was a mildly cold person. It wasn't even possible to begin to understand the inane devotion Kakuzu had to money, it actually scared Hidan sometimes, making him worry that Kakuzu was more devoted to money then Hidan was devoted to Jashin-sama.

"…" Was the only reaction Hidan got. Now Hidan knew something was most definitely wrong.

"Kakuzu!" Hidan shouted loudly, whirling around, his large scythe clanking audibly on his back, as he turned to find out why his money-grubbing partner hadn't started strangling him yet. It took Hidan sometime to comprehend the situation before him, owing mostly to the fact that he had never seen it in his life and had never really considered it possible.

Kakuzu was lying face down in the dirt…motionless. All these thoughts took sometime to run through Hidan's head before little warning bells began to go off.

"Holy fuck!" he cursed as he hurried towards his partner's inert form, leveling him up with both arms as he placed an ear to Kakuzu's chest, listening closely for five different heartbeats. Silence was all he heard for a torturously long time, and he found himself possessed of an unfamiliar and annoying feeling, a sort of awkwardness in his stomach, as if something had gone and died in it. Then, at long last, he heard something.

"_Thump!" _It was a small and pitiful noise, two words that Hidan never thought he would associate with the stoic Falls-nin. The beat had been faint, but it had most definitely been there. The panic that had momentarily filled Hidan subsided at the evidence that his partner was still alive, but the uncomfortable feeling in his stomach seemed determined to stay. _'Fuck! What now!' _Hidan thought worriedly to himself, gazing at Kakuzu's eyes, both of which were closed, panic once more settling in on him.

Kakuzu was the senior member of the duo and was always busy telling Hidan what to do, or how to do it, without his guidance Hidan felt uncharacteristically lost. _'Fuck! I must look like some sort of shitty loser right now' _he berated himself fiercely, embarrassed and enraged at his amateurish behavior. Wordlessly, but still fuming, he clasped his hands together in a gesture he had seen Kakuzu make several times but had never bothered to learn himself. _'Hope this works' _and with that the ring upon his left index finger began to glow.

Hidan felt relief surge through him as the technique began to take effect, his mind drifting off as if it had suddenly become an entity of its own, reminding him of the astral projection technique they were forced to use so often.

'_Zetsu!' _Hidan called out mentally, hoping that the plant-man was still in the area. Silence filled his head and no answer seemed forthcoming.

'_Fuck!' _he swore mentally, desperately searching for any other Akatsuki presences in the area.

'_Hidan?' _came a cautious, but clearly curious thought from Zetsu. Hidan mouthed a silent prayer to Jashin-sama, once more offering thanks to the miracles he worked in every bit of Hidan's life.

'_Zetsu, man, you got to get here now! Something freaky is happening to Kakuzu' _Hidan explained quickly to Zetsu, hoping that he had managed to impart the gravity of the situation to the Akatsuki spy in so few words.

'_Remain at your position, I'm depositing the Nibi and will come to you directly afterwards' _came a far colder and more menacing reply, obvious signs of Zetsu's darker side. Hidan nodded, even though he knew the gesture was meaningless and broke off the connection, lowering his hands and watching the glow subside from his ring. He turned his head to the body of his partner, the occasional heaving of his chest the only sign that he was still alive, and marveled at how quickly perceptions could change.

When he was up and about Kakuzu was about as frightening as any individual could ever hope to be, radiating malice and wrath like the sun radiated heat. Yet, looking at him now, that entire feeling seemed to have just vanished like a puff of smoke, as if it had never even been there to begin with. Instead Kakuzu suddenly looked as old and withered as Hidan knew he was supposed to be, as if time had suddenly decided to catch up to him.

To see the normally fearsome and confident shinobi reduced to such a state so quickly was just so very…wrong! It didn't seem right, or fair. But more then anything else it scared Hidan, and that was the feeling in his stomach that he couldn't identify. _'Why am I scared?' _

_

* * *

_

Mephiles: Thank you for reading this and I hope you enjoyed it, please leave a review if possible but only criticize if you have constructive advice to offer, thank you again.


	2. Change Of Plans

Mephiles: Second Chapter! Thank you for everyone who read, and ecspecially those that gave me reviews, all your words are taken into account and greatly appreciated. I hope you also enjoy this one, and reviews shall once more be appreciated.

Reliance

Chapter Two:

Change Of Plans

"Drip!" A single drop of water made its way down to the floor, an immaculate tear-shaped pearl of sapphire, lingering for but a second before it shattered into a million watery shards, forgotten forever, leaving behind it no sign of its passing. For how long the water had been dripping down, the individual droplets slowly coalescing into a mirror of sorts, growing larger with every drop, Kakuzu could not say. Kakuzu moved an arm, moved his arm, slowly, watching with keen eyes as his mirror image copied his movement, constrained by the edges of the small pool.

"Drip!" Another drop fell, temporarily distorting the pristine image of the Akatsuki member, sending out spiraling ripples in every direction. His form elongated and changed, morphing and moving until the ripples finally subsided, and Kakuzu was soon staring at himself within the pool once again. He didn't know where he was; the only thing he could clearly make out was the pool before him. It was a funny sort of feeling, something he was unacquainted with. It was as if he was some sort of spectator to his own body. There it was in front of him, and it mimicked him, but it was somehow…different. As if he was looking through a mirror at his own body.

It was a cave, a dark cave, filled with nothing. Void and emptiness roamed the insides of the cave, a vast and hollow expanse of nothing and no one. No one but himself, all alone, within the cave. There was a cliff in the cave, a mighty divet carved into it long ago.

"Drip!" Another drop of water fell gently down from the massive divet above him, shattering his mirror self into thousands of multifaceted monstrosities. Kakuzu noticed the drop, watched it drop down from above like a small jewel from on high. Strangely he felt as if it wasn't quiet right, somehow he knew it couldn't be right. Kakuzu's eyes narrowed as he examined the great divet critically, an occasional drop of water falling down every now and then, his teal eyes searching for something unseen. He looked harder and harder, straining his eyes in an attempt to find the reason why such a large crevice held so little water. But the harder he looked, the less he could find. It was as if the image grew darker as he concentrated harder, growing bleary and distorted as he tried to focus on it.

He closed his eyes in concentration, the dark around him growing ever deeper. _'Where am I? Where is Hidan? These are the things I need to know,' _he thought to himself slowly, desperately running over the scenario in his mind, looking for any explanation as to where he currently was. But he couldn't think; no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't think. There was always something gnawing at the back of his skull, chewing away at his mind, each thought was blocked by a noise…a noise!

Kakuzu opened his eyes and turned back to the divet. Noise, he could hear noise coming from the divet. He needed to find out was at the top of that crevice, he needed to know what was making that infernal racket. Know, and find it, so that he could then proceed to tear it into infinitesimally small pieces, a thousand times over.

"Kakuzu?" Kakuzu paused, and then darkness seemed to be everywhere.

* * *

"Well?" Pein inquired impassively, his voice betraying no feelings or inflection, his concentric eyes gazing on coldly at his subordinates. The Akatsuki members tensed, awaiting the answer. Zetsu, who was one of two of the gathered members who were not holograms, gave a small grunt, turning his eyes to his companion in the flesh, Hidan, who was, at the moment, far more interested in his prayer beads, his eyes closed as he rubbed them together, mouthing silent words.

'_No doubt praying for his Deity to punish Kakuzu, un,' _Deidara thought to himself, shaking his head slightly at the excessive lengths that Kakuzu and Hidan would go to, to annoy each other. Honestly, they were like little children, arguing about every little thing, they were possibly the most annoying members of the entire organization, he snorted in contempt.

"Does Deidara-senpai have a cold?" Tobi asked his voice enthused with genuine concern. Deidara paused to examine his companion. _'So maybe they were the second most annoying members, still, they really should learn to work together, un,' _he thought to himself, scowling at Tobi.

"Hidan!" Pein snapped, eliciting a grunt from the Jashin-worshipper, who slowly opened his eyes to look at his leader, confusion apparent in his small violet eyes, his one hand still fidgeting rapidly with the ridiculous array of beads that hung around his head as he answered,

"Wha?" Deidara suppressed a snicker, as Itachi issued an audible groan and Kisame gave an unsuppressed snicker. Hidan raised an eyebrow, still oblivious that the question had been directed to him as he gazed about the flickering kaleidoscopic holograms of his partners in crime. Pein rubbed the bridge of his nose with two fingers, mentally counting to five before continuing,

"Hidan, what happened to Kakuzu?" He asked, his voice low and distorted, as if coming out of a badly damaged radio, Hidan had to strain his ears to catch each individual word.

"I told you, we were just walking around, when he just fell down, on the ground like a dipshit," Hidan explained casually, resting on the haft of his three-headed scythe as he regarded his leader with a bored expression. Pein grit his teeth, an action that was completely concealed by the darkness around him, but his frustration was evident in the tautness of his voice.

"That is all?" He asked, issuing the words out through his teeth. Hidan paused for a moment and then nodded, Pein gave a small sigh as he turned to regard Zetsu with an unreadable expression. The plant man seemed to understand this and nodded.

* * *

He was floating within an ocean of darkness. A pitch sea of his own mind, tossing and turning as he was buoyed about by the waves of his own thoughts, cast adrift within the tumultuous maelstrom of his subconscious. His body was heavy and limp; cold and hard, as if he'd hardened it once too much and now it was refusing to go back to normal. His limbs hung like thick-corded knots of string, which, admittedly, was all they really were. Kakuzu was a small-multicolored dot, lost within the vast, comforting darkness. Tranquil and peaceful darkness, no rushing, no fighting, no getting attacked by king-sized fiery cats of doom and, best of all, no scythe wielding, Jashin worshipping psycho maniac. Kakuzu felt, for the first time in his life, at peace. So he instantly assumed that something was critically wrong and, after making sure he wasn't trapped in a Genjutsu, could only come to one logical conclusion. _'I'm dead'_

It wasn't what he thought it would be like, mind you he hadn't exactly spent a lot of time thinking about it, but when you got to be as old as he did, certain things were unavoidable. One of those things in particular was death, after all, once you become an S-class missing-nin there are certain things people come to expect from you. One of these things was being able to kill people, lots of people preferably, and, if you were aiming as high up as Akatsuki, you had to be able to, as Hidan would so eloquently say it, kill a fucking load of people. So why was he surprised by death? Well was there any reason he shouldn't be surprised, in his opinion it would be mighty unfair if he wasn't surprised, after all, he was dead, he deserved to be surprised.

He'd lived a long and, uniquely successful life, he deserved a bit of a break. In fact, the more he thought about it the more he started to like this whole death thing. No worries, no stress, he could actually take time out to do something other than work here, it might be refreshing to not have to be a worker drone for a while or, if Hidan's scriptures were remotely true, all of eternity. There were even certain monetary advantages to being dead, after all he no longer needed to worry about food or drink, clothes didn't really matter, and property was also of little consequence. Best of all he didn't need to pay taxes on anything, not even Kunai tax. Yes perhaps being killed was the best thing that had ever happened to him. But before he opened his eyes there was something he needed to know.

"So…heaven or hell?" Kakuzu ventured cautiously into the emptiness, his eyes shut tight in consternation, hopefulness daring to worm its way into his voice as he steeled himself for the worst and, in his opinion, inevitable answer. There was no answer, or at least not an audible one, but Kakuzu had little experience with the afterlife so he decided to stick around a bit longer in case a spiritual message got beamed into his head or some such other thing. So he waited, and, once again, nothing happened. So, with his significantly finite patience expired, he decided to confront the situation in the same manner that he had confronted almost every situation in his life, successfully.

"Katon Zukokku!" He shouted, leaping to his feet and glaring about himself pointedly, as a storm of fire issued forth from his lion mask, quickly spreading all around him, and scouring the nearby, and not so nearby turf, until all that was left was a blackened crater, Kakuzu standing calmly at it's epicenter.

Kakuzu paused, looking about himself and taking in his surroundings as the last of his Jutsu's flames burned down, and the lion mask receded back into his body, thousands of black cords squirming their way in and around him, resembling a host of maggots burrowing into his skin. Kakuzu had been expecting a fiery hell of brimstone and lava, and would have been mildly surprised if he found himself in cloud-strewn paradise, but he was completely unprepared for what really saw.

"Takigakure?"

* * *

Pein's hologram flickered briefly, sputtering like a candle for a moment before it vanished, leaving Zetsu alone in the darkness of the cave with Hidan. The two Akatsuki members waited a few more seconds until, confident that the entire cave had been vacated of their fellow's presences, Hidan turned to Zetsu with an arched eyebrow.

"So what exactly is going on?" He asked regarding Zetsu carefully, his violet eyes filled with a strange sort of curiosity. Zetsu paused a moment, hesitating before he answered carefully, and in complete honesty,

"I do not know," and with that he turned around, heading towards another chamber of the dank and dark cave, his long cloak billowing around him, the red cloud design shining brightly in the oppressive darkness, his tall leaves swishing gently backwards and forwards as he went. Hidan narrowed his eyes, not satisfied in the least by the shallow answer, and quickly followed the Akatsuki spy, his scythe firmly in hand.

The two entered a separate part of the cave complex, a small table had been set out at one end, with a few candles burning upon it, different vials and bottles stood motionless atop it, their contents a mixture of vile oozes and other colourful liquids. Hidan peered curiously through the vials, reading, but not understanding, the different labels and instructions which had been painstakingly etched into the intricate glass containers. Their contents glowed in the faint candle light, painting the scene in an eerie multicoloured glow.

"_Hidan come over here!" _The darker half of Zetsu demanded in its harsh tone, like crackling leaves in a fire. Hidan turned his attention away from the fascinating potions and medicines, walking over to where Zetsu stood, gazing down at the large, flattish, upturned stone that served as a medical bed, leaves strewn upon it in a faintly reminiscent manner of a mattress. Upon the bed Kakuzu laid unconscious, his Akatsuki cloak stripped from him, revealing his patchwork body, small seams of black cords across his entire form, joining him together. Hidan watched on solemnly as his partner lay motionless before him, his chest moving only occasionally, a telltale sign that there was still some life inside of him. In Hidan's opinion he resembled nothing so much as a large patchwork doll, the kind that had been passed down from one generation to another until it no longer even slightly resembled the toy it had once been.

"Something is wrong with him, critically wrong," Zetsu explained to Hidan, the two stood immobile, watching their fellow Akatsuki member cautiously.

"Do you know what the fuck it is?" Hidan inquired quietly, surprised at his own solemn demeanour, no trace of his usual smirk or smile evident on his face, his small violet eyes watching on impassively. Zetsu shook his head, his large golden eyes glinting ominously in the darkness, his face creased with concern.

'I'm no medical-nin, nor do I have any experience in the matter, but even I can tell that whatever is affecting him is dangerous, we'd require an expert in the arts of medical jutsu to diagnose something like this," Zetsu stated as he watched the gradual rise and decline of Kakuzu's chest, his small face cloth fluttering occasionally as he exhaled. Silence filled the chamber, hanging thick between the Akatsuki members, permeating the very depths of the cave as it reigned unchallenged.

"Fucker finally got his," Hidan mumbled to himself quietly, staring on in confusion at Kakuzu. A small grin made its way onto his face as he watched his former teammate in satisfaction. _'About time,' _He thought snidely to himself, smirking superiorly at the inert form of Kakuzu.

"Leader-sama is expecting us to make sure he survives, he is an invaluable resource to our organisation and one of its oldest members. It is imperative that he survive,"

Zetsu spoke up turning his head towards the smirking Hidan, a smirk of his own appearing. Hidan's smirk vanished as soon as the words left Zetsu's mouth, replaced instead by a scowl of fury. Rage swelled up in him, indignant rage and fury. _'They fucking think that shithead's better then me, to them I'm just some fucking expendable tagalong,' _he thought to himself furiously, an inferno burning in his heart as he felt righteous indignation fill every inch of his being. Zetsu smirked again.

Hidan winced as he saw it out of the corner of his eye. No matter what he did, they would always consider him second to his partner, he felt…humiliated, demeaned. What was he to this organisation anyway? A little thing to ensure that the teams were balanced, an inconsequential piece merely for the purpose of having more pieces? He was still in Kakuzu's shadow; he was always in Kakuzu's shadow! Who the shit wasn't in Kakuzu's shadow? Besides Leader-sama, and he didn't count. It made him want to…

"Alright then," Hidan replied calmly, a wry smile spreading across his face as his violet eyes filled with mirth. Zetsu's smirk vanished; he eyed the psychotic priest warily, taken off guard by his uncharacteristic calm. Hidan gave a small laugh before turning away, his scythe hung casually over his one shoulder, as he made his way towards the cave exit.

"_What exactly do you plan on doing?" _Zetsu inquired condescendingly. Hidan paused briefly, not bothering to turn towards Zetsu as he answered.

"Hey, someone's got to save that greedy bastard's life, I'm just the guy unlucky enough to get the job," and with that he was off. _'Then well see who the best was, then they'll know that I'm just as good as fucking invaluable Kakuzu,' _he thought to himself, his mind taunt with barely constrained anger. But he would do it, he'd save his life, and then he'd prove once and for all that he was the superior to Kakuzu.

* * *

"But how" Kakuzu thought to himself as he turned his head left and right around himself. He was back, back in Takigakure.


	3. Objective

Mephiles: The next chapter is up! Thank you to everyone who read and reveiwed for taking time out to read my story, I hope you enjoy this next chapter as well.

Reliance:

Chapter 3:

Objective

The ground began to buckle and break, the soil and grass frothed as if it had suddenly gone mad, cracking and breaking apart, peeling off of the surface like dead skin from a person's body. The ground quailed and morphed, like a mother in labour, as something seemed to be pushing against it, like a baby untimely ripping through its womb, Zetsu emerged, his long and leafy appendages dripping dirt and grass like an umbrella might drip with raindrops, shielding him from any unwanted filth. A dark and raspy breath emerged from the Akatsuki spy, as if each breath came from within a cage, his leaves parted, revealing a bisected face, merely one of the oddities for which he was so often reviled, and impassive yellow eyes. His black and red cloak billowed around him like the cloud design it so proudly bore, flapping about in the wind like a bird flying against a gale.

Zetsu moved his head slowly from side to side, taking into view everything around him, from the tiniest and most irrelevant of details, to the critical, mission necessary layout of the land. A deep fog shrouded everything in gray vapours, blocking most forms of conventional sight. For Zetsu's eyes this was of little concern, his golden eyes easily saw through the mist and would have put even the greatest of eagles to shame. The morning sun had just risen, and was gradually making its sluggish ascent to the sky, resembling nothing so much as a large and bloated egg yolk, the brilliant rays of light that it shed staining the entire sky with a dull yellow. Not that anyone but Zetsu could see this, to any other person the day would have just seemed a dull and dreary nightmare, the thick and ever-present fog blocking out even the determined efforts of the sun.

Zetsu looked down from his vantage point, perched as he was atop the crest of a small grassy hill, into the natural valley that lay below him, surrounded on all sides by similar hills, giving it the appearance of an enormous bowl. It was the contents of the bowl, rather than the bowl itself, which drew Zetsu's keen attention to rest. Zetsu furrowed his brows, his glowing eyes staring down through the mist at the contents.

Deep within the bowl, shrouded in all the fog, was a tiny little speck of a village, whose few inhabitants were already up and about, hoping to seize the day early so that they could retire early as well, which was only done so that they could wake up early again and repeat the cycle. In Zetsu's opinion this was a completely pointless exercise, ridiculously repetitive, and completely lacking in any form of common sense. _"Leave it to humans to create an irrelevant system of life,"_ His darker half muttered a predatory and dismissive edge in his voice. He gave a small sigh, watching intently as the villagers went about their business in the happy manner of those who have little contact with others, completely oblivious to the danger that lurked but a hill above them.

"What the fuck are you sighing for?" Zetsu turned his attention towards the highly offensive inquiry, a small grimace of annoyance crossing his normally calm and controlled white half, Zetsu was fully aware that as S-class missing-nin they were expected to be fearsome and cruel, but in his opinion this still did not merit the type of obscene behaviour which Hidan and, truth be told, most of his companions practised.

Hidan continued his approach flagrantly, either failing to notice or just choosing to ignore the scathing and, potentially lethal, look he was receiving from his leafy compatriot. Hidan strode past him with a snort, his Akatsuki cloak hanging in its customarily loose manner, revealing, unnecessarily in Zetsu's opinion, his well muscled chest as he came to halt a bit ahead of Zetsu, planting all three of his scythes heads into the ground, idly leaning on its haft as he turned to face Zetsu with a vain smirk.

Zetsu did not return the expression, choosing instead to glare poignantly at the Jashin worshipper. Hidan raised a curious eyebrow, a gesture of inquiry at Zetsu's belligerent facial expression. When this failed to yield results of any type from the cannibal, Hidan gave a defeated sort of sigh, his shoulders slumping reluctantly in resignation.

"What's the problem now leafy?" Hidan asked, his voice dripping with mock concern, rolling his eyes in a gesture of apathy. Zetsu bit back a caustic remark, deciding that it would be more prudent to focus on the matter at hand.

"Where's your hat?" He asked, his voice filled with barely restrained fury, his needle like teeth flashing dangerously, an evident warning that even the most stalwart of Shinobi would have backed away from. Hidan merely gave a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders, suddenly losing interest in the Akatsuki Spy and turning his attention down towards the basin village below. He scrounged his face, peering into the fog with all his might, his small violet eyes futilely attempting to make out some or other detail on the village below. Zetsu felt a smirk make its slow way up his dark half, as he watched Hidan's fruitless attempts at mimicking his own eyesight.

_"The Village is small, unknown by most,"_ Zetsu supplied, walking to a standing point next to Hidan as they both gazed down in mutual observation of the small town below them, the noises and sounds of people wafting up towards them like an offensive smell. Hidan sneered down, his eyes shining with loathing

"Heathens," He muttered darkly to himself, gripping the handle of his scythe so tight that his knuckles turned white.

"Your concern is not the village, remain focussed on our target, remember Kakuzu's life is depending on us," Zetsu reminded him firmly, but instantly regretted his verbiage, a regret which was soon echoed by Hidan,

"If you're trying to give me an incentive to do this, I'm afraid you're going about it the entirely wrong way, I don't give a donkey's shit about that fucking piece of trash," Hidan said vehemently, turning to Zetsu with a furious glare, hateful bale fires burning deep within his eyes. Silence followed this statement, and the tension which soon followed would have taken something substantially larger and sharper than a knife to cut.

"So who the fuck am I after anyway?"Hidan asked savagely, turning his burning glare from Zetsu down towards the innocent and completely unsuspecting village. Zetsu gave an egnimatic smile before anwsering him...

* * *

Kakuzu looked about himself suspiciously, his luminous green eyes analysing the seemingly picturesque scene which lay all around him. Small houses stood quietly, children played happily, chanting in sing song voices as they ran in circles, laughing and giggling all around him, smiling adults watching them with pride, the symbol of Takigakure worn boldly on their protectors. The loud and thunderous roar of the waterfall for which the village was named hung thick in the air around him, several thousand litres of fresh, clean water crashing down upon the ground with all the force of gravity again and again and again. The sight was an oddly nostalgic one, and not even Kakuzu could say that he didn't feel something at the sight of his old home. Granted the feeling was just an immense desire to leave, but it was a feeling nonetheless, and more than Itachi had probably ever had. 

_'But why? What am I doing here?'_ he wondered to himself, feeling oddly perplexed, a feeling he was not very familiar with and would prefer not to become familiar with anytime soon. Kakuzu quickly became aware of an advancing gaggle of nauseating children, all laughing and chuckling, making their carefree way past him. He paused, waiting for the screams which he was most certain would come when they saw who he was, preparing himself for the enemy Shinobi who would most certainly swarm him immediately afterwards, he prepared for all these things, but what he didn't prepare for was...

"Good morning sir," the children respectfully intoned, before continuing on their merry way, as if they hadn't just greeted and ignored one of the most fearsome and ruthless ninja of all time. Kakuzu stared after them, completely and absolutely dumbfounded. Had they not noticed his cloak, his scratched headband? Forget that, weren't they scared of his glowing green eyes, his nightmarish and scarecrow like demeanour?

"Makes the heart glow doesn't it?"Kakuzu quickly turned towards his addressor, moving with reflexes honed from years of paranoia to come face to face with the young man, although it was true that by Kakuzu's standards everyone was young. The man was, at most, in his late twenties, his dark hair hanging just below his shoulders, a light blue uniform around him, the forehead protector of Takigakure resting slightly askew on his own forehead. The man beamed with joy, which was a lot harder to do than it is to write, and was usually an exaggeration, but this time Kakuzu really meant it. The man positively glowed with joy and positive emotion; he seemed to radiate waves of compassion and care in all directions, his mouth turned up in the widest grin Kakuzu had ever seen.

"My name is Shibuki," The man offered helpfully despite the lack of inquiry. He grinned broadly and Kakuzu could only watch mutely as he launched into a tirade of conversation, prattling on and on about how wonderful the day was and how adorable the children were and about just how marvellous it was to be alive. Kakuzu felt a small twitch in the corner of his left eye, but it was hidden by his mask, irritation and annoyance flushed him as he continued to stare at the nauseatingly jolly man, who continued on, inured it would seem to the hate laden glances Kakuzu continued to project towards him which was actually quite an astounding feat, and just prattled on and on and on.

* * *

"This place is a fucking hellhole," Hidan cursed quietly into the mouth piece of his portable radio, glaring in a demeaning fashion at all the people around him, hoping for an excuse to kill them. His previous question was soon answered by the electronic crackle of static, before Zetsu's distorted voice issued out of the small ear piece. 

"That does not matter, remember to keep a low profile, your target is well aware of whom we are and what we do," Zetsu instructed in a calm and superior sounding voice, like a wise old adult chastising an impulsive youth. Hidan grumbled a sombre apology, continuing on his way forwards towards what appeared to be the single largest building, although he supposed that wasn't really much of an accomplishment in a speck like this, in the entire, for lack of better term, village. He eventually came to a halt before the mediocre large building, squinting through the thick fog as he tried to make out the large plaque

"Basin Town Inn," Hidan read out precariously, as if each word had to be carefully enunciated or they might not come out. Hidan lowered his eyes to the Inn's doors, making them out vaguely through the repeatedly mentioned density of the fog. The Jashin worshiper gave a slight shrug as he stepped inside, swinging the door open with one hand, his red scythe still clutched tightly within the confines of his robe.

Hidan found his face blasted with warm air, and he almost choked on the humidity which suddenly overwhelmed him. The Inn was, unsurprisingly, not full of fog, and was definitely not the most elegant of establishments. The creaky timbers that made up the floorboards and roof of the house were exactly that, creaky, and they seemed ready to snap in half if even the slightest bit of pressure were applied. Hidan walked as if on eggshells, slowly making his way towards the bar counter, wrinkling his nose in contempt as it was suddenly assaulted by a combination of foul odours. Hidan sidled up to the counter, flopping down into an open seat lazily, grinning slyly; fully aware of the offensive looks he was receiving from the Inn's regulars. It didn't take long for one of the larger of the group, and noticeably drunker too, to make their way unsteadily towards Hidan, the newcomer and obvious foreigner in their midst. Hidan smiled as he heard the man come to halt behind him, his awkward gait finally coming to a ponderous stop. The man slowly reached out a hand and...

_"This won't end well," _Zetsu commented to himself atop the hill

* * *

He hated him, he simply hated him. Kakuzu didn't know why, but for some reason he really hated that grin, that incessantly happy smile, the way he just went on and on about how wonderful life was. Kakuzu was gripped by a sudden urge to grab him; point out just how wrong he was that every day was filled with an endless stream of nightmares and horrors that he remained blissfully unaware of. That he himself had killed dozens of men, women and children had even betrayed his own village, this village, all for the love of money. Kakuzu felt a strange and sudden pain shoot through him, a short burst of agony and bitterness in his heart, one of them at any rate, and his vision flashed green. He could taste the feeling, a disgusting alkaline in his own mouth, a nasty sort of experience that came and went, leaving Kakuzu feeling...envious, but of what Kakuzu couldn't be sure. 

"Don't days like these just make you happy to be alive?"

"Shut up,"

"But the children are so happy and the weather is so fine, isn't it all great?" Shibuki asked, apparently not hearing Kakuzu's grumbled threat.

"Shut up!" Kakuzu growled in an ominous voice resonating and reverberating outwards dangerously. Shibuki, who seemed inured to all this, merely continued to prattle on and on about every single topic he could think of. Kakuzu had to silently marvel about the man's ability to link anything to happiness or the fulfilment of life, it was in its own sort of way frightening.

"I said shut up!" Kakuzu warned again, his fists clenching tight, the cords in his body stretching and drawing themselves taut in anticipation of the bloodshed which followed their master's loss of control.

"You know you should really think about helping out here, I think you'll like it, you'll fit right in," Shibuki advised with an inhumanely wide smile, placing a reassuring hand on Kakuzu's shoulder, as if he was welcoming home a lost child. It was the final straw that broke the camel's back, or, in this case, snapped Kakuzu's infamously short temper.

"SHUT UP!" Kakuzu roared from behind his sclera, emphasising his rage with a powerful thrust of his arm, driving it into Shibuki's chest, and continuing through until there was a large gapping cavity where the chest had once been, blood dripping everywhere.

* * *

The man gave a brief scream, his limp and bloodied form flying through the shoddy timbers of the Basin Inn, splinters flying all about him, as well as sticking into him. However he had little time to worry over these wounds, as his terrified eyes were still fixed on the enormous slash running from his pelvis to his throat, and focused on it they would always remain, glassy and lifeless as his heart came to a sudden stop. 

Hidan gave an exuberant laugh, relishing in the carnage as one of his assailants, broken bottle in hand, charged him from behind. Hidan bowed his body low, catching the man's midriff with his own shoulder, tossing him over into a heap on the floor with inhumane strength, just in time to swing his three headed scythe in a wide and cruel arc, slashing through the throats of two more would be attackers, leaving them lifeless as they fell to the floor, blood pouring out of them like rain.

Another man tried to ram him with a sharpened stake, but by the time he reached Hidan the only thing he stabbed was empty air. He stood stunned for a moment at Hidan's speed but his astonishment soon turned into no small degree of terror as the Akatsuki seemingly materialised out of nothing behind him, crushing his skull with a heavy blow from his scythe.

Hidan spun away from his latest victim, using the haft of his scythe to block two brawlers and their rusty knives simultaneously. Hidan gave a wolfish grin, baring his teeth at them aggressively, before tossing the two men aside like toothpicks, turning his attention back to whoever was next, scythe gripped tightly.

He didn't have to wait long, as he soon found the sharp edge of a sword coming in line with his neck. He gave a casual motion and dodged the attack; slipping underneath his assailants guard and swinging his scythe up into his stomach and chest, propelling him several feet into the air, before watching happily as he fell to the floor with a satisfactory crunch noise. _'One more for Jashin-__sama__,'_

Hidan turned around slowly, drawing his scythe back into his hand, facing the remainder of the pub's occupants, a cruel smile on his face as he regarded them with an air of amusement, almost like a five year old in a candy shop and, perhaps, this really was the best description.

"So who's next?"He inquired, his infernal sneer still firmly fixed on his face as he raised a single silver eyebrow. The men panicked and ran, making noises akin to frightened pigs to continue the metaphor, scrambling over each other in an attempt to escape the homicidal new comer. Hidan sighed in disappointment, leaning forward on his scythe, his chin rested on his folded hands as he watched them leave. _'That'll teach them not to pick a fight with Akatsuki,' _he thought to himself proudly, marvelling at his handiwork. _'Jashin-sama would be proud,_

"Hidan look out!"Zetsu's cried, the static warning coming just seconds to late, as Hidan felt the familiar coldness of a finely forged Kunai make its way through the back of his neck, coming out the other side as it cut smoothly through the flesh. Hidan turned with a surprised expression to his mysterious assailants, his small violet eyes wide with an unusual amount of disbelief, blood leaking casually and shamelessly out of his mouth.

"We're next, Akatsuki!"

* * *

Each breath was heavy and laboured, struggling to escape from his mouth and into the air. Blood ran slick across his cloak, staining the crimson clouds an even deeper shade of red, coagulating into rivulets and rivers on his form, running down to splatter in a messy puddle on the floor. Kakuzu breathed slowly, watching intently as the blood made is slow way down him on to the ground, a small puddle of blood already forming at the base of his feet. 

His green eyes surveyed the carnage before him, the destruction. Dead bodies lay strewn, child and women lay indiscriminately butchered alongside their male counterparts, maimed and mauled as only Kakuzu could. Their eyes were glassy and frozen, fixed on some or other faraway sight, staring but not seeing, blankly at the world around them.

But Kakuzu had not stopped their, no, not even the buildings had been spared. Houses and homes lay, transformed into smouldering rubble, ash strewn ruins and debris littering everything. No two bricks were left upon each other; fires burned maliciously all around, lightening crackling occasionally from one of Kakuzu's masks.

In his hands, gripped tightly between two fists, the corpse of Shibuki slumped, prone and inert, a hole where his heart should have been, and a bloodied mess where half his face would have been. The Forehead protector he had worn, once so bright and polished, was now stained and dulled by blood, oozy, gory blood.

Kakuzu sighed, exhaling slowly, as if worried that if he did it to fast he might just hurt himself, roughly throwing the useless cadaver from his grip, watching with contentment as it fell to the ground with an organic plop, resting within an ever-growing pool of blood. Kakuzu smirked as he looked down at the corpses strewn in and amongst each other. _'He loves everyone so much, so he can just die with them to,'_ He thought to himself sadistically.

Kakuzu walked over to the stream, crouching down to stare at it, the roar of the enormous waterfall, which was both the centre and source of life for the village, thundered far above him, crashing into the ground, filling the large and clear stream. Teal eyes stared upwards from the waters mirrored surface into a set of equally ominous ones. Kakuzu sighed, closing his eyes in concentration as he regained his breath, dipping one hand in the river as he began the troublesome process of cleaning himself of all the blood and gore he had accumulated.

Kakuzu watched disinterestedly as the blood washed from his cloak and threads, dripping down into the water, shading it red and crimson, leaking everywhere.

Kakuzu spun around in alarm, lashing out with his foot, as he felt something grip his ankle. There was a horrid squelching noise as his kick connected with his assailant, sending it flying into the pile of copses behind him. Kakuzu stood frozen, a strange feeling of anxiety sharpening his senses. His eyes remained frozen on the mass of corpses, looking desperately for where the mysterious gripper had come from, and then, the corpses started to move.

Kakuzu watched horrified as the mound of dead cadavers began to stir, to move and groan, transfixed as the previously inert and motionless bodies began to quite visibly move in a very strange manner. Dead people are not meant to move, and, despite the fact that he was a living walking piece of proof that death was not as great a boundary as some thought, he still wasn't comfortable with the idea of his victims returning right after he killed them, they could at least have the decency to return once he was gone.

Right there and then a very strange thing began to happen. Kakuzu had the sudden urge to runaway, a sudden blinding, terrified desire to flee and never come back. It was like an obstinate little thorn sitting in his heart, all of them, driving itself deeper and deeper into them, grinding away at his very being.

Kakuzu turned to flee but he couldn't. It wasn't because he didn't want to, oh quite the contrary, he desperately wanted to be anywhere else but here at the moment, but his feet wouldn't move, and as he looked down at them he realised why. Clutching at his heels, vapid grins and glassy eyes staring up at him, the corpses of the fallen were holding him in place, their arms grappling him, giving him no chance to escape.

Panic consumed him, raw unashamed fear and terror for reasons far beyond him. It wasn't that he was scared of the copses per say, he had after all fought with far more terrifying things in his life, but it disturbed every inch of him, they just wouldn't die. He wanted to escape he had to escape, something about this place was somehow intrinsically wrong, everything was wrong. Everywhere he looked all he could see were the bodies coming closer and closer, dragging their bloody and mauled carcasses along, and coming to him. Faced with such an unfamiliar feeling Kakuzu did the only thing he could think of.

There was a horrid wrenching noise as his back exploded into a writhing and squirming mass of black coils, four vaguely animal faces emerging alongside his, in their mouths elemental Chakra flashing violently. Like the panic now inside of him the raw Chakra flashed and crackled erratically, the energy dancing in strange and eldritch arcs of light. His eyes were blinded by fear, a feeling he had almost never felt in his life.

"Die!"

* * *

Mephiles: The next chapter will be up as soon as possible, as usual reviews and advice will be heartly appreciated, stay well and enjoy my story please. 


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